Survey Shows Fundraising Help and Technology Top Ministry Needs

An amazing 72% of non profits indicated their need for fundraising counsel/assistance in a recent survey completed by the Servant Christian Community Foundation in June 2008.

When asked “what services does your organization most need,” fundraising counsel was the top choice of Christian non profits. Not far behind, however, were website development (67%) and information technology assistance (61%). These results are certainly indicative of the ongoing need to raise funds for the ongoing operation of the ministry, but also the increasing reliance on marketing and building awareness through technology.

Based upon these responses, it is not surprising that these ministries indicated that their top physical need was first marketing materials (78%) followed by a need for computers (67%). A smaller number indicated the need for physical office space (22%) and office equipment (17%).

In the same way, these ministries indicated their top staffing/personnel needs were as follows:

Development/fundraising staff—78%

New board members—50%

Marketing counsel—39%

New staff member (unspecified)—22%

Legal counsel—22%

The survey quantifies the anecdotal findings of the Servant Christian Community Foundation (SCCF). Over the last eight years, SCCF has continued to hear of the ongoing need of ministries to raise funds. They need to know how. But the survey also tells a similar story: ministries need to know how to craft their message. This is reflected in their heavy emphasis and need for marketing materials.

But the survey also shows that ministries recognize that telling their story has shifted from print media to an online world. This emphasis is reflected in the number of ministries with needs in the area of website and technological help. This also validates the efforts of SCCF in working with ministries and providing them ministry development services. These services will continue to grow to meet the ongoing demand shown in this survey.